Tourist Attractions and Places near Pune and Mumbai

A heavenly place for both the young and the aged alike. While the young go about enjoying the scenery, the aged can relax in the serenity of the temple. It is not often that you can find a quiet and clean temple, but this is definitely one. This temple at Hadshi temple is run by the Sathya Sai trust and has idols of Pandurang (Krishna) and both the Sai Babas. They also do all the aartis like the ones at Shirdi Temple.

I saw a photo of this temple on a blog. One look at the photo and the location convinced me to go there and i wasn’t disappointed. I have been there twice already. On one occasion, it was pouring like crazy and the other time, it was a sunny dry monsoon day. I would recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a place to take visitors out for a drive.

How to go to Hadshi Temple from Pune: Google Maps doesn’t recognise either Hadshi or Hadshi Temple. You have to go to Chandni Chowk, then Pirangut, then Paud –> In the direction of tamhini/Mulshi. In Paud, take the right turn just after the Bus Stand. After this. keep going straight towards Pavana Dam/Tikona, then you will start seeing signboards. At a fork after around 15 kms, the road to the left will be marked with an arch saying Hadshi Temple. You have to be really talented to miss this. Then, the narrow road climbs up a small hill to the parking lot of the temple.

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The first floor of the temple has the Pandurang Shrine while the ground floor has both the Sai Babas. The late sathya Sai baba visited this place in 2009 (surprising that i didn’t read about this in any newspaper) and the photos on the wall show thousands of followers on the lawns of the temple listening to discourses.

An added attraction is the good canteen. They had poha, sabudana kichdi, pakodas, bhel and lots more. Btw, learnt from my second trip that the hot pakodas are made only on Sundays! So, for those not religiously inclined, drop the ones who are so at the front steps and make your way to the canteen.

We had also packed lunch and had it just on the way down the hill close to a stream. It was a lovely evening with the sun playing hide-and-seek with the clouds. Then, we drove all the way to Pavna dam to see Tung Fort and the backwaters and then we retraced the same way back to Pune. If you have a few hours and need a place to go, this would make an excellent destination.

written by Rajaram S

You don’t need to be either a mallu or a religious person to visit the Ayyappan temple. You just need to be a person like me looking for some new scenic place to visit on a weekend! The Ayyappan temple in Dehu Road is a beautiful temple in a beautiful location. If you have never been to one before, this will be quite an experience seeing the rituals and the way things are done mallu style.

This temple is on top of a small hill near Dehu Road. Since the land surrounding the hill belongs to the army, photography is not allowed in this area. This place is popular with joggers and other runners who walk/run upto the top of the hill (through a trail or the road). The view from the top is unhindered on all sides and thus iit is also a popular hangout place for the people in that area.

How to go to Ayappan Hills from Pune(Magarpatta): Go towards Koregaon park, the Shivaji Nagar, then NH4 (old road to Bombay). This automtically goes to Dehu Road (a few kms before the toll or the Big Ganesha Statue). Anyone in Dehu road would be able to guide you. There is a State Bank of India ATM/Branch. Next to it is a road going in from the main road. This road climbs up to the top. It is a steep but easy climb for any car.

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There is another hill temple closeby, It is the Murugan Hill temple. Though it is called as Murugan hill temple, there are many dieties here including Hanuman, Balaji & Sai Baba.

If you drive on through Dehu Road, you will meet the bypass road coming from the left (the one to use to go Expressway). If you continue straight on,
you should see a left turn going up to a small complex on top of a hill. You can either drive to the top or climb a dozen steps to reach the teample. From thsi temple, you can also see the Ayyappan Temple across the road on one of the hills (though it looks quite far!).

This is a good evening trip for a few hrs, as it takes around an hr in traffic to reach Dehu Road.

written by Rajaram S

A short drive (30 kms) away from the city brings you to a temple on top of a small hillock. A short drive, a good ghat section and something unique in this temple make this a very good option for 2-3 hr break from the city.

Shri Kanifnath Maharaj was one of nine teachers in the Navnath Sampradaya, a Hindu Parampara who believe that Rishi Dattatreya, an incarnation of the Holy trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to be its first teacher (Source: Bhatakanti). This temple is dedicated to him.

How to go to Kanifnath Temple from Pune (magarpatta city): There are two ways to go from Magarpatta. Either go to Saswad and then to Kanifnath (slightly longer) or go through Kondhwa Road (beautiful ghat section in the middle). The map shows the second option which i think is the easier and the more scenic option. Go towards Big Bazaar. Take the left after the one next to Big Bazaar. This is the Prince of Wales Drive. In the next major junction, turn left to go on Kondhwa road. After this keep going straight for few kms. You would come to a junction where the left goes towards Saswad, the right goes to the highway and the straight goes into the hills. Keep going straight. If you are unsure, ask for Bopdev ghat, dont ask for Saswad. People will direct you to the Saswad road if you ask for Saswad though the Bopdev ghat road also goes to Saswad. After the ghat, you will see a big board for Kanifnath on the left and then it is a straight road to the top of the hill. One of the landmarks could be the plane-shaped water tank we saw on the way!

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Once on the top, you get a beautiful view of Pune city. You have to climb around 20-30 steps to reach the temple from the parking or take your vehicle on the road (bad road) to the right of the parking to reach the back of the temple.

The unique thing about this temple is that the main shrine is in a closed room and only men are allowed to enter it. It is not just walking through a door! There is a small opening, probably a little more than a foot in either direction through which you (only men and topless too!)have to crawl into and also come back the same way as you are not supposed to point your foot towards the shrine. No photos were allowed so i dont have any, but it was interesting watching people of all sizes and shapes get into the shrine. Plan your trip such that you reach the temple around sunset as the evening light is just great on the temple as there are no other hills around. We did the usual stuff, lot of photographs , chai-bhel at the shops outside and we were back to Pune within a few hours. Hari and Akshara also had a separate photograph session on their own. Check out those photos here.

written by Rajaram S